Illegal Betting Operation Across 39 Provinces Using the AVCI System

Turkish authorities used an AI-supported system to identify illegal betting and gambling networks allegedly run through Telegram. In a simultaneous operation across 39 provinces on November 3, 194 suspects were targeted and 169 people were detained.

The prosecutor's office ordered arrest for 121 of the suspects. Forty-five people were released under judicial control, while three were released without any restrictions.

The investigation was carried out by the Organized Crime Investigation Bureau of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The Istanbul Police developed the AVCI system, whose name means "hunter" in Turkish, for open-source intelligence analysis. The system can interpret coded expressions, slang and emoji combinations using natural language processing. It can examine photos and videos, link accounts operating under different identities, and reveal relationships between group members. It can also retain messages exchanged in closed messaging groups even after users delete them.

According to reports, AVCI detected 306,000 potentially incriminating messages linked to 47 groups. A 21-year-old software developer, alleged to be the organizer, reportedly used the name of British lottery winner Michael Carroll as an alias on Telegram. After MASAK examined financial transactions, searches and asset seizures were carried out at homes and workplaces.

AVCI was also used in a major gambling investigation earlier in 2026. In May, police reviewed approximately 600,000 messages in an operation covering 35 provinces, and the investigation ended with the capture of 108 people.